Alexander L. Lokshin (1920-1987) is a Russian classical composer. Shostakovich and other contemporaries held him in high regard. However his music was considered “wrong’ by the Soviet Union and he lived a lifetime of persecution. Recently, his music has begun to surface and gain recognition. Several works, both complete and in excerpts, are available on the official web site. These six compositions are good lengthy examples of his music.

In Jungles, suite for Symphony Orchestra (1960) is a good place to start. It was composed for a film by Alexander Zguridi based on Kipling’s “Jungle Book. The piece is very Tschaikovsky influenced with its quite gorgeous melodies. Whether intentionally or unintentionally I was often reminded of The Nutcracker.

His 11 symphonies may be more typical of his output, Symphony No. 1 (Requiem) (1957) is still very lyrical but full of drama and foreboding. It is actually for symphony and chorus and feels very spiritual as you would expect from a symphony named “Requiem”. Symphony No.3 (1966) is much more dissonance and quite dark. The verses are by Kipling. Symphony No.8 for Tenor and Symphony Orchestra (1973) is based on”The Songs of western Slavs” by Pushkin and has a strong Russian nationalist feel like what you may find in the music of Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Symphony No.9 for Baritone and String Orchestra (1975) is for voice and a small chamber orchestra making for a more intimate work but still quite powerful.

The last featured composition is a non-orchestral work. Three Poems by Fyodor Sologub for Soprano and Piano (1983) is quite dissonant and modern compared to the other examples.

All works are available in 96kbps except Symphony No. 9 and Three Poems which are in 160kbps. The formats are either MP3 or MP4.

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